A/N: sorry this is late I have once again overestimated my ability to write ;u;

(at least it's long tho?)

"Sir, the squadron has been prepped and is ready to roll out whenever you are."

"Okay, thanks." Keith nods and the Blade bows their head before taking leave. Lance, who's standing next to Keith, found the exchange amusing.

"'Sir', huh?" He quirks an eyebrow, wanting to tease Keith about the honorific. Keith closes his eyes and sighs.

"I tell them not to call me that; it makes me feel weird. Like I'm old or something. Like Shiro."

Lance laughs. He doesn't bother trying to argue about it. A few of his students call him the same thing, and even now there are times he forgets to respond. It's a bit surreal. They had looked up to so many others before, and now they're the ones being looked to. He still feels like a child, sometimes, and he has to remind himself that he's not so young anymore. He needs to take initiative and act if he wants something, and he can't be afraid to chase new opportunities.

"What's going on, though?" Lance had started his morning peacefully. He checked out the Marmora training grounds and worked out for a bit, welcoming the burn in his muscles afterwards. He hasn't felt that in a while. He then ate breakfast on his own because Keith was elsewhere, but ended up being invited over to a table, where he got to talk about Earth, and ask the others where they were from, as well as what made them join this organisation. Following that, he met up with Keith, and was just about to ask him what was on the agenda today when they were interrupted.

"Communications received a distress signal early this morning, from one of the zones a bit further out. We're going to go check it out. There may be hostiles, and there have been reports of injuries, so a bunch of different people are going."

"And you are…" Unless Keith secretly became trained in the medical field, Lance doubts he's going there to tend to the injured. He pretty sure he knows what Keith's going to do, but he wants to hear it from the guy himself.

"I'm going to go after whoever's doing this."

"On your own?" Keith has a habit of doing that. He's always on the front line, more than willing to endanger himself rather than have someone else get hurt. It's hazardous, and Lance hates this part of him. He doesn't like the sound of where this is going.

"Yeah. I don't think it's going to be anything big, so I should be able to handle it on my own."

The nonchalance in Keith's voice pisses Lance off, but he stops himself from doing what he really wants, which is to yell at him. He's hesitating because he doesn't want to tell Keith what to do, as if he isn't already aware of the risks, although he also doesn't want him to be in danger either. Something he's learnt over the years is that it's good to have back up, whether you end up needing it or not. He chews his lip, still debating about what to do in his head, but Keith has already taken notice. He's always been able to read Lance, to know what he's thinking, and this time is no exception. He presents a solution Lance hadn't considered yet, and it calms his worries.

"Do you want to come with?" Keith looks like he didn't want to offer the option, but knew it was the only way Lance would be satisfied.

"Yeah." Lance doesn't even take a second to think about it.

"Alright. I'll have someone take you over to the armoury so you can pick whatever weapons you need. There are still a few things I need to check on first, so I'll meet you at the hangar." Lance nods in confirmation, while Keith brings out his communicator and organises for someone to come over.

"Can I pilot the ship?" Lance asks after a moment. He's heading back into potential action, and the familiar adrenaline he used to feel before missions is returning. He's starting to feel thrilled, and he knows that flying will only make him more excited. He tries hard to remain in the right mindset, but he can't help it. He hasn't felt like this in ages. He's going to have a hell of a time. Keith seems to feel the same way. He's grinning, wider than Lance has ever seen.

"Of course."

The armoury holds a variety of weaponry. Lance sees many that are familiar, guns, swords, lances. He giggles when he spots the last kind, then moves on to see what else the Marmora has to offer. There are many where he can't figure out exactly what they are, there's a cube that appears to be nothing but a block, and something that resembles a bow except it has no bowstring.

In the end, Lance goes back to the weapons he's confident with. He looks at the range, and stands there to think for a bit, before he smirks and reaches out for what he wants. Each thing he chooses has a smaller form, like how Keith's blade comes from a normal-sized knife, and he holsters them before leaving the room.

Someday he might ask Keith to show him the weapons he's never seen before, and maybe demonstrate them for him. Right now though, he has to go on a mission.

Lance is somewhat rusty when it comes to flying. It's been a while, it's to be expected. There's no way Keith doesn't know this, and yet, when Lance loses control for a moment and steers them off course, he still chooses to tease Lance about it.

"Hey," Keith leans over in front of Lance and smirks, "where did Lance the Red Paladin go? This is, like, Lance when he first flew Blue."

"Oh, come on!" Lance protests. "I'd like to see you fly this well after taking a long break."

"Yeah? Is that a bet?" And then Keith comes closer, even closer than he was before, and Lance doesn't know what he's trying to do; he shouldn't take his eyes off the road, but Keith is practically right beside him now, and he thinks that's his breath he feels against his neck. It's getting ticklish, but Keith isn't moving back, and seriously, what is he doing? Lance has had enough. It's distracting him, so he turns to yell at him, but only shifts his eyes at the very last moment, and when he does, Keith is right in front of his face. Like, their noses are literally centimetres away from touching. This obviously startles him, but before the shock settles in, Keith gives him a slow, wide grin, and that's when his hand slips. The ship tilts right completely, which throws Keith off balance, and he goes flying into the side with a thud.

He corrects the ship's position, then goes to glare at Keith. He has half a mind to feel bad for him, but really, he got what was coming. He only panics when someone's voice comes over intercom, and asks if everything's alright. He'd forgotten they weren't alone, and that others had most likely witnessed what just happened. While he's stuck thinking about how to reply, Keith gets himself off the floor and holds a hand to his head. He takes over momentarily, and says everything's fine. He then narrows his eyes at Lance, and adds "we've got a baby pilot here, but don't worry. I'll make sure he flourishes into a beautiful bird." Lance had been pissed when Keith insulted him, but after hearing that attempt at a metaphor, he forgets about it completely. Does Keith even hear what he's saying? He hears more confused voices come in after, asking what Keith means, and he snickers. Keith just turns communications off.

"Aw, you can't leave your subordinates hanging! You should explain Earth's figurative language to them." Lance fakes thinking for a moment, he exaggerates the act by stroking his chin. "Actually, on second thought, don't. You'll teach them wrong." He gives a shit-eating grin, but it wavers when Keith leans forwards and stares daggers at him. Everything is suspended for a moment, then Keith backs down.

"I'm gonna rest for a bit." Lance turns his head to find Keith slouching in the chair behind his with his feet propped up against a ledge. His arms rest crossed on top of his chest, and his eyes are closed. Lance snorts. Typical. Even as a leader, he doesn't change his ways. He wonders what the Blades would think of him if they saw this. He wants to pull out his communicator and snap a picture, but Keith speaks and surprises him for the second time. "Don't you dare do anything funny." Lance doesn't know how Keith knew that if his eyes were still closed, but he pouts and turns back anyways. "And don't mess up." Lance rolls his eyes this time and mocks Keith under his breath. He's not the one piloting, he can't tell Lance what to do.

After a while, the heat is all gone, and Lance thinks back to what happened earlier. He doesn't know if he's ever been that close to Keith before, and that's probably a good thing too, because clearly, it's dangerous. Just picturing the proximity again has his heart beating faster, and brings butterflies to his stomach. He might be delusional, but he swears that Keith may have glanced down at his lips at some point, and for some reason that makes him more flustered. He frowns and tells himself it's a natural reaction, then tries to forget the event altogether. It's hard though, when it's silent all around him, when there's nothing but his thoughts to keep him entertained.

If Lance purposely rocked the ship every now and then to disturb Keith before they arrived at their destination, that's nobody's business but his. If he sneaked out of the ship and purposely didn't wake Keith up, causing him to show up last to the meeting with the leader of the planet, then that's his little secret as well. Keith maintains a calm expression, sincerely apologising for his lateness and provides a flimsy excuse that he was checking the perimeter, which the people actually buy. Lance knows he knows though. Before the leader starts explaining their situation, Keith glowers at him, and he simply smiles back. It only angers him further, but he immediately refocuses his attention when the leader starts speaking.

Someone has been stealing their resources. It was food at first, perishables, then medical supplies, and now, what led to them contacting the Blade of Marmora, weapons. They snuck into citizen's homes in the beginning, and other facilities, but for some of the medical equipment and weapons, they were guarded. No one was killed, but people have been injured; it seems that whoever's doing this doesn't engage unless absolutely necessary. Witnesses have never gotten a good look at the culprit, their entire figure is covered, and they move very fast.

After Keith asks the leader a few more questions, they visit the witnesses to gather as much additional information as they can. Once that's completed, Keith gives out orders. Medics are to tend to the injured immediately; one of the groups of other Blades are to restock whatever went missing; and the last group is to patrol the area for any suspicious activity. Lance is to go with Keith into the forest, where the person responsible is believed to be hiding.

"So, what's the plan?" Lance and Keith have been walking through green foliage for some time now, and so far they haven't seen anything but leaves and various other plants. Keith walks on ahead, cutting down anything in their way with his blade. He hasn't been saying much. Lance looks behind them, at the path they've inadvertently cleared, and wonders if it'll become a problem.

"We find the person responsible, then interrogate them."

"You make it sound like it'll be easy."

Keith stops and turns to face Lance. "What makes you think it won't be?"

"Dude," Lance throws his hands up, "were you even listening before? Whoever this is is quick, and they haven't been caught in all this time. We shouldn't just charge in there like psychos. That leaves us in the open."

And just as Lance finishes that word, something zips past his ear, hitting the tree beside him. It resembles a shuriken, except there are lasers coming out from each point. Lance looks in the direction it was thrown from, and sees another approaching, directly at him this time. It seems like everything moves in slow motion now. He almost goes cross eyed watching the star get closer, and he starts to think 'this is it', when he is forcefully yanked forwards. Then everything goes into hyperspeed. Keith pulls him through the forest, everything passes by as a blur, and they're crashing through everything. Lance gets branches in his face, but he will take this over actually being dead any day.

It feels like they're running in circles, because everything around them looks the same, but eventually they come across a thicker part of the forest, where they'll be concealed between the bushes. They crouch down and catch their breaths. Lance is panting hard, his heart beats hard, and he swears he can feel it. Keith, on the other hand, seems like he's only had a light workout. Lance looks at him with a disgusted look on his face between huffs. Then, Keith wipes a hand across his forehead, and suddenly Lance can't breathe for a different reason. He's still angry, though.

"Still think it'll be easy?" He whisper-yells. Keith just glares. He then takes a look around them, before coming back to face Lance with a level gaze.

"I think we're close to the centre of the forest right now. It's mostly all bush and trees around us, but while we were running I spotted a path."

"Yeah," Lance says, because apparently they're just stating the obvious now, "you cleared a path."

"No," Keith doesn't react to the quip, which means he's being serious, so Lance starts listens carefully, "when we were escaping I couldn't cut everything down in time, so we basically crashed our way here. Also, it means whoever this is won't be able to find us. The path I saw leads deeper into the forest. I bet the culprit uses that path." Keith pauses so Lance can take all the information in. Lance already has, he's always been good with retaining information, but he's a bit caught up how exactly Keith saw all of this. He realises it must have something to do with him having Galra blood in him, and he groans, accidentally. Out loud. Keith suddenly looks angry and Lance holds his hands up in surrender, mouthing an apology. He still eyes Lance with suspicion when he continues.

"Here's what we're going to do. I'll go out into the open, see if I can draw them out, then I'll chase them down the path. There's no guarantee they'll stick to it, but I think it might lead to a hideout, where they'd theoretically have an advantage. You hide somewhere along the way or at the end, then come out at the last moment."

Lance hums, thinking over the plan. He doesn't like the fact Keith is using himself as bait, and he also doesn't like that there are so many variables. If something goes wrong they're back at square one, or even worse, Keith could be in trouble. It's still better than nothing though, he supposes, which also means Keith won't let it go, so he nods. "It's a trap, then?"

"Yeah."

Lance laughs.

"What?!" For someone who is able to move so silently and likes the quiet, Keith sure sucks at controlling his volume. Lance winces then glances around them to make sure there's no activity.

"Dude, can't you whisper? We're hiding here, remember? But anyways, it's nothing. All of this just reminds me of old times. The missions we used to do together." This one specifically is reminiscent of the first time they went to the Balmera together, where Lance had distracted the sentries so Keith could take them down. Wow, that was forever ago. It was just after Lance decided maybe Keith would make a better teammate than rival.

"Yeah…" Keith's voice is suddenly soft. Lance listens, intrigued. He can talk quietly, after all. "There weren't enough of them," and then he stares into Lance's eyes, "we're a good team."

Lance suddenly has a sense of déjà vu. They're in a similar position now, as well. Crouched down, not a lot of distance between them. It's all green around them this time though, not purple. The callback to the words he said all that time ago dazes him. It always brings a blush to his cheeks, when he thinks back to that time. And Keith knows what he was doing. He wears a sly smile, however Lance won't indicate he understood the reference. He doesn't know why it started, but he's always denied remembering that moment, so he will continue to do so. Plus, it seems to irk Keith, and even though he's long past their rivalry, he still enjoys teasing the guy.

When Lance doesn't provide a response, Keith huffs. He then points towards his right and tells Lance to get into position. He'll wait a few minutes before walking to the path. Lance nudges him. Keith looks angry again when Lance doesn't say a word, but he moves his eyes to give him a hint. Keith follows the movement to where Lance has held his hand out. Keith clutches it, then nods. Lance heads out.

It's hot. This must be a tropical forest or something, because seriously, Lance hasn't moved that much and he's sweating. He's also getting restless. He's just been kneeling behind a shrub, waiting, but at least there are no insects around. Keith was right, the path leads to a little camp of sorts. He's staring at it now, wondering what's hidden in all those boxes. His boredom turns into worry when he still doesn't hear any movement. He considers his options, then decides to go look for Keith. His life is more valuable than catching whoever this is.

Lance is just about to step out from hiding, when he hears a crash. He faces the direction it came from, and is barely able to make out two figures. He waits, as there may be multiple culprits, but he gets confirmation it's Keith when he hears him yell at the person he's chasing to stop. Lance snorts at this, because when does that ever work? Lance inches closer to the camp as they approach, and, wow, they are fast. The citizens of this planet weren't kidding when they said the person moves like a blur. However, what's more amazing is the fact that Keith is able to keep up. He carries his blade in his left hand, which must've been weighing him down, and then he reverts it back into a dagger, swaps it over to his right hand, then throws it at the culprit. Lance has to refrain from yelling out, because they didn't come here to kill, but the person dodges easily, and the knife lodges itself in a tree.

They're a few metres away from the camp now, and Lance can see them more clearly. Keith looks like he's almost at his limit, while the person he's chasing smirks. They must think they'll win once they reach camp. But before that moment, Lance leaps out of the bushes, reaches back with his right hand to where he's keeping his weapons, and unsheathes a sword. He holds it to the culprit's throat, point touching the skin but not breaking it. He breathes heavily, as if he was involved in all the action, then commands, "surrender".

Surprisingly, the person complies. It could be because Lance keeps the sword at their neck the whole time, as well as the fact Keith is looking at them menacingly, but Lance didn't expect it would be this easy. He makes the culprit sit on one of the crates, then waits for Keith to act. Keith comes to his side, but he's no longer looking at the person. He stares at the sword instead, then up at Lance. Lance gives him a questioning gaze, but his expression is unreadable. He takes the weapon from Lance, and Lance goes to stand behind him.

"I'm going to put this down now," he says slowly, "but know that if I get even the slightest indication of you trying to escape, you'll be dead on the floor before you can even take a step."

Lance gawks at Keith. Is he being serious? If Lance knew Keith was going to be threatening people, he wouldn't have let him take the sword. Lance hopes that whatever it is Keith is planning, he has thought it through. He's always been an act first, think later, kind of guy, and Lance isn't sure that is going to help their situation here.

"Alright," the culprit replies, "you can lower the weapon. I know there's no way I can get out of this."

Keith watches carefully for a moment, then hands the sword back to Lance. He has this weird expression again when doing it, but Lance decides he can ask about it later. Keith sits down across the person, and Lance goes to retrieve his knife from the tree. It takes him some time, Keith can apparently throw a knife really hard, and when he gets back, he sees that Keith still hasn't begun the interrogation. In fact, he looks to be in the process catching his breath and recovering from the chase. Lance makes eye contact with the culprit and tries not to laugh. He can't believe he's bonding with the bad guy. He takes a seat beside Keith, hands over the dagger, and decides he should start this conversation.

"So, who are you, and why are you taking things from those people?"

The culprit actually reveals a lot. They're an orphan, of sorts; they've been alone for as long as they can remember. They reckon their family was killed in the war. Everything was messy then, so there was nothing that could be organised and no one to take care of them. Once the war ended, they tried to integrate into society, but was outcast. They stole things in order to get by, food for the day, clothes, bedding for when it got colder. They never wanted to hurt anyone, however sometimes had no choice but to do so. They discovered a black market recently, where they could sell what they stole, which is why they got more daring and went after more valued items.

Keith had stayed silent the whole time Lance talked with the person. He didn't mind though, because he was genuinely interested in what they had to say, but now he's at a loss for words. He doesn't have any solace to offer save for his words, although he wished he had more. They don't seem like they want to be doing all of this, they just have to in order to survive. They have potential, however Lance doesn't know how he can help them realise it. Silence has settled over the three of them, and while Lance is deliberating this issue, Keith stands up.

"You can change your life around," he uses this tone Lance has dubbed his 'leader voice'. It was amusing to hear the first few times, simply because the circumstances were trivial, but now it automatically makes him admire him. It's effective. "And you can start at the Blade of Marmora. We're always looking for recruits; the war affected the entire universe, there are many who still need our help. We are willing to help you out, so long as you want it." Keith extends his hand, then, and the person takes it without hesitation. Lance watches the whole exchange in awe. He never really considered this to be a part of what Keith does, but now that he's seen it, it makes so much sense. He's snapped out of his daze when the person turns to him and thanks him.

Right. Lance was a part of this, too. He helped Keith. Keith smiles at him, and he's immediately reminded of when he was his right-hand man. Lance had been devastated when Black wouldn't respond to him, and when she responded to Keith, it felt like twisting the knife. He'd always dreamt of being a leader, and now the position was going to the person he wanted to follow least. However, as soon as he saw how much Keith didn't want it, and how insecure he was about the whole thing, his mindset changed. He became determined to assist him in any way he could, to help mould him into the leader Shiro thought he could be. When Lance took over Red, it became more obvious to him that this is where he was meant to be. By Keith's side, helping him lead.

To see Keith as the leader he is today, the way he's so comfortable in his skin, makes Lance so incredibly proud. It also brings back this old, familiar feeling he can't place. He's never been able to. Except he knows it heats him up like fire, like the beams that used to come from Red's mouth, and he remembers being too afraid to dig deeper into exactly what it means because he didn't want to be burnt. Now though, he thinks he might be ready to walk into the flames.

Before any of them get up to move, Keith uses his communicator to send for Blades to come here so they can return everything the culprit stole. Once they arrive, Keith asks Lance to help them out, while he takes the person to the leader so they can make a formal apology.

Transporting everything takes some time, because there are quite a few heavy boxes. Most of the Blades pair up, or form small groups to move them all into the town square. By the time that's completed, there's already a crowd forming around them, wanting to see what all the commotion is. The Blades start unloading everything, and then the people get rowdy. They're shouting over each other, claiming items, cursing the one who took them. Before anyone can get hurt, Lance steps atop a crate to calm everyone down.

"Alright, if we could have everyone stop for a moment, please?" Surprisingly, they actually do. The area falls silent, and only Lance's voice can be heard. "Yes, these are items that were stolen. I won't give details on anything, as I am sure your leader will discuss all of that later. Please understand, however, that some things may not be present, or could be damaged. Everything was sorted into categories, however many belongings were still mixed together, so the Blades are currently separating everything. We will also, to the best of our ability, divide items into ones that belonged to officials and civilians. We will lay them all out, but wait for your leader before proceeding with returning anything. Thank you for your cooperation."

After Lance's speech, there are still murmurs, and the crowd doesn't disperse, but it's a lot tamer than what was happening before. Lance is proud of himself for being able to do this. He goes back to helping the Blades, and once that's done, they wait for the others to arrive.

When the leader shows up with only Keith in tow, Lance is slightly panicked. Did the leader not agree with Keith's offer? He wants to ask, but Keith stands beside the leader in front of a podium, and Lance knows he can't go up there.

They don't end up staying for much longer after that. The leader addresses everyone, telling them everything will be explained, but that they had to thank the Blade of Marmora first. They've already taken up enough of their time, and they still have other obligations. Keith assures that's not the case, then delivers a speech of his own, commending citizens for staying strong, and telling them the Marmora is here for them at any time. He then bows politely, and the Blades take their leave.

Once they're out of earshot, Lance jogs to catch up to Keith, and finally asks the question that's been on his mind.

"Where's the person we caught?"

"Oh, I took them back to the ship. Didn't want to expose them to a potentially angry crowd. I think the leader is okay with what I proposed, but there's going to be a meeting after the person's trained and all to discuss things a bit more."

Lance breathes a sigh of relief. "Hey," he punches Keith's shoulder lightly, "it's really cool what you're doing for them."

"Mmh. They kind of… remind me of myself." Keith talks much more quietly now, and Lance isn't sure how to reply. He isn't sure if Keith wants a reply. He doesn't end up having to make that decision though, because Keith speaks again. "I'm piloting this time, by the way, I still haven't recovered from the trip here," then he smirks, and takes off.

It riles Lance up, of course, and he yells a 'hey!', before chasing after him. Keith has always been faster than him though, and when he makes it to the ship, it's Keith who bonds with the culprit over Lance catching his breath this time. He just rolls his eyes.

Lance is just lying on his bed in his room right now. There's still a while until dinner, and he doesn't really feel like doing anything before then. Keith has been busy from the moment they arrived back at base; he had to get the person set up, then catch up with everything else that occurred while they were gone. It must be hard work, he thinks. A lot of responsibility, too. He has enough of that as a teacher, he can't imagine what it's like at the top of an entire intergalactic organisation. He decides to just rest for a while, and he's just about to fall asleep when there's a knock at his door. He sits up, and tells whoever it is to let themselves in.

It's Keith. And of course it is, who else would it be? He makes himself at home without needing to be prompted; he carries the chair from the desk over to the edge of the bed with one arm then sits on it backwards, so he's leaning against the back. It's… very attractive, and Lance has to turn his head, masking his reaction with a cough.

"So, is the sword a new development?"

Lance looks back at Keith and finds him wearing a curious expression. He head is tilted slightly, and his hair hangs that way as well. His question takes Lance back to how he reacted earlier as well, when he saw Lance wielding it. He looked like he wanted to ask, but didn't think it was a good time.

"Nah," Lance smiles widely. He feels proud, all of a sudden. "I unlocked it once with the red bayard. It was an Altean broadsword, Allura had said. Why," Lance leans closer, a smirk playing on his lips, "does it make you feel threatened?"

When Keith simply shakes his head, Lance is slightly disappointed. Actually, a lot. He slumps back down onto the bed. Keith is no fun. Lance waits for Keith to say something, but he doesn't for a while, so he sits back up again. He finds that the former Black Paladin is debating something with himself, his eyebrows are furrowed, and he's looking at his hands as if they hold the answer. Lance continues watching him, waiting.

"Whatever happened…" Keith hesitates again, but Lance indicates for him to continue. He thinks he knows where this is going. "What happened with you and Allura, anyways? I was wondering at the reunion, but, well…"

And there it is. It's not that Lance isn't over the breakup, or that there are any bad feelings between them now, but because so many people asked him about it right after it happened, he's instinctively developed a distaste towards the question. He remembers that Keith didn't ask about it, as well. He was one of the only people who didn't do so. And hypocritically enough, it made Lance angry at the time. It made him feel like Keith didn't care about it. After he calmed down though, he realised it was just the kind of person Keith was. Lance thought he might've asked someone else about it, although he's not really too surprised that he didn't.

"Allura and I… It just didn't really work out. I don't know how else to word it. We kind of rushed into the whole thing, I think. I mean, it made sense at the time, we were in the middle of a war, anything could happen at any time, but, I don't know. Did you know I told her I loved her on the first date?" Keith goes wide-eyed. Lance chuckles a bit. "Yeah, I know right? But anyways, it was pretty good after that, although there were a few hiccups. When Allura freed the entity… I didn't like that at all. I didn't like that she was putting herself at risk, we had no clue what could happen to her, and I hated seeing her hurt. Sometimes it felt like she wouldn't listen to me, or even hear out what I had to say. It made me feel like I wasn't as important to her as she was to me.

"That was false, of course, and I learnt that after the war. We were closer than ever, then, and I spent a lot of time with her on Altea helping her rebuild her civilisation. She was the happiest I'd ever seen her; she'd gotten her people back, her home back. I felt thankful to be by her side, to be able to see her like that. We went between Altea and Earth for a while, afterwards. Following all that time in space, I didn't want to spend too much time away from my family and my home. And it was fine. It worked out perfectly. My family loved her and would always welcome her with open arms when we were there, and on Altea I was treated like royalty too. I actually enjoyed helping her with politics and governing and such. It was something new, and I was fascinated by everything. We had fun too, of course. We went on dates in juniberry fields, she showed me around all the places she loved as a kid. We were caught outside once when boiling hot rocks started falling from the sky though, and let me tell you, that is not an experience I want to go through again. Our rain is much better, thank you. And then… her coronation happened."

Allura's crowning was the grandest event in the whole universe. Planning had gone on for ages, and Allura was super stressed out the whole time. The actual day went off without a hitch, though. People across all planets were invited, Arusians, Balmerans, Puigians, Olkari. If they went to their planet, they were invited. Species from planets they've never even interacted with before were there. Members of the Voltron Coalition were present, as well as those from the Blade of Marmora, and the Galactic Coalition. Hunk's 'culinary empire', as the team had dubbed it, catered for the event, and were praised endlessly for their delicious foods. The Castleship, which had been rebuilt, was decorated from top to bottom, and it had never been livelier.

The greatest sight of them all though, and the most important, was of course, the princess, who would soon become a queen. Her coronation gown had a slim-cut bodice, with puff shoulders like her mother's dress had had, long, gold sleeves, and a bell-shaped skirt. It was all white, with gold accents, and a few blue ones. The skirt was made up of layers, with the main part being blue, and layers of white covering it. Stones from all over were collected and made into little jewels to decorate the gown. It was as if she was the universe, and all the gems were stars. She also wore a coronation robe; it was made up of a light pink middle, which had a darker pink border, to honour the fallen, and white linings. It also had white details.

Allura's hair was done half up, with a braid down the middle, and juniberries woven within. Her new crown was also a circlet, except it was altered to fit her new status. It was flipped, so it pointed upwards, and the band was a lot thicker. There were no sharp edges this time, just smooth curves which met at the centre. And in the middle of that, a new Balmera crystal was placed. She appeared ethereal, truly, and it was everything she deserved.

During the physical crowning, Lance stood with the rest of Team Voltron and watched as the crown was lowered onto Allura's head. He smiled as he looked on, feeling incredibly happy and proud. He was so glad that after everything she'd gone through, she could stand before her friends and family, her people, as well as all the other lives she'd touched, at her home. Tears had already streamed down his cheeks before he knew it, and he raised a hand to touch his face as if to confirm the fact he was crying. He didn't really feel any of it though, because he could only focus on what was happening in front of him. Next to him, he noticed that Coran had started crying as well, which brought a fresh wave of tears.

Afterwards, it was a big party. Everyone got to mingle with each other, and tour the castle. Allura was approached every few ticks and congratulated. She had changed into a much simpler gown, but still looked gorgeous. Lance stood by her side the whole time, still a bit dazed by the whole thing. His girlfriend was the queen of Altea. When this fact popped into his mind multiple times throughout the night, he became incredibly self-conscious, and suddenly began second guessing everything. He couldn't mess up and embarrass Allura. He became much more careful and reserved. Allura noticed, of course, and took his hand to squeeze it. She didn't say anything, but it calmed him immediately, and he knew what she was conveying with her eyes. She was telling him not to worry, so he didn't. He smiled, squeezed her hand back, and continued to entertain the guests with a much more relaxed mindset.

When the event ended and all the guests had left, Lance looked at Allura and waited to see what she wanted to do. She would no doubt have even more responsibilities and obligations now, and Lance didn't know how she was feeling. He was nervous as he waited, but realised it was all for naught when Allura turned to him, and said 'can we please lie down now? I'm exhausted'. Lance shouldn't have worried at all, because no matter Allura's title, she was still the same girl he fell for all that time ago, she was still the same Allura. He took her hand, replied with 'of course', and led her down the hall to their room.

"Once Allura became queen, she couldn't really stay anywhere else for too long or travel much. She had to lead the Alteans, after all. And I couldn't really not stay on Earth. I was about to start the teaching job, and I didn't really want to impose. I think I was kind of adamant about this because I didn't want it to seem like I was freeloading off Allura. I wasn't, of course, and she knows I wasn't as well, but, I don't know. In hindsight I was also… afraid, to stay on Altea, I guess. At the end of the day I was still a foreigner, and no matter how much the citizens liked me, there were still many things I didn't really get.

"Before our first date I had a talk with Coran, and he lectured me on all these customs and stuff, then you comforted me about that, do you remember? Well, turns out they do have a lot and they are important. Not as much as before, of course, because it was a new era, and since they were rebuilding their home, they could alter the rules as well, but many were still required to maintain order.

"We were trying long distance, but it just didn't work out. I felt insecure, I suppose. I started pulling away, and Allura didn't have the time to chase me, and it was unfair of me to have expected her to do so in the first place. It's kind of my fault, I think. I do know that she blamed her position, though. Prior to our breakup we fought about it a lot, and once she asked me 'would it be different if I weren't a queen?'. It felt like a punch to the gut. And I couldn't even deny it because it did have to do with that, just not in the way she thought. I was simply too scared. And I'm forever going to be sorry for that.

"But yeah, that's basically it. We decided to end it one day, I moped for ages, but I'm okay with it now, and we're still as close as ever. I am eternally grateful for our relationship, however I know that it never would've worked out."

Lance shrugs at the end of his monologue, unsure of what else to do or say. Keith, who has been listening intently to his words the whole time, doesn't react right away either. Keith didn't really show any big reactions throughout, but Lance knew what to look for. He's subtle in the way he expresses himself. The softening of the corners of his eyes, the slight nod of his head, the light tap of his fingers against the chair. Lance sees all of it.

Finally, after some time, Keith sits up straight, and looks Lance in the eyes. "I'm sorry." He sounds a bit awkward, like he doesn't think if this is the right thing to do, but doesn't know what else to say. Lance doesn't mind, though. He waves it off.

"It's fine, dude. It happened ages ago. In the end it was a good learning experience, as well."

Keith relaxes then, and appears much more comfortable. "I still can't believe you once dated a queen."

"I know, right?" Lance grins. "Crazy stuff."

"Not the craziest thing that happened, I would argue." Keith is suddenly pensive, his voice goes all light, and he gazes back down at his hands, where his fingers are interlaced.

Lance gives him a questioning gaze, but either he doesn't notice it, or he doesn't want to elaborate. He then stands, and Lance looks up at him. While they stare into each other's eyes, Lance tries to get something, anything, from Keith, but he can't. It's like he's put all his walls up, and not even Lance can climb them.

"I'll get going then," Keith says, turning to leave, although he turns back to add, "dinner will be ready soon". It doesn't seem like he's waiting for a response, but Lance gives him one anyways.

"See you."

After Keith exits the room, Lance flops back onto his bed. He watches the ceiling for a bit, then turns onto his stomach and rests his head against his arms. What was that at the end? Why did Keith's demeanour suddenly change? Lance groans, not caring if others can hear him through the walls. God, Keith is still the same as always, isn't he? Being absolutely mysterious when he wants to be. Lance is frustrated. He was under the impression that they made good progress today, with the mission they completed together, and all that.

As soon as the thought passes Lance's mind, he freezes. What progress is he talking about? He wasn't aware that there was some kind of goal here, something he wanted to achieve. Now he whines, kicking his legs against the bed. Great, add that to the list of things Lance needs to figure out.

A/N: ignore the fact that their ships can probably pilot themselves I just really wanted to have flirty keith and flustered lance fdhfjksdf

anyways this is about it for all the action in this! from here on out it'll be a lot of talks and stuffs

I'm gonna learn from my past mistakes and not guarantee anything, but I will try and get the next chapter out as soon as I can (also here's me apologising in advance again if that ends up taking a while)

as always, feel free to review! let me know what you liked!

(hmu on tumblr at riskeith if ya want)